The Game
Cat in the Box is a trick-taking card game from Japanese designer Muneyuki Yokouchi. I just realised he also designed Yokai Septet, which I also played for the first time recently. Both of these are unconventional and clever trick-taking games. Cat in the Box was first released in 2020 in Japanese. The international deluxe edition was released in 2022 in multiple languages. It was nominated for and won a few awards.
This is a trick-taking game, but the cards don't have suits, only numbers. The idea of this game is based on quantum physics, specifically on the thought experiment Schrodinger's Cat. When you put a cat in a box with something that can kill it, and close the box, you don't know whether it's dead or alive until you open the box to check on it. So until you observe it, it is both alive and dead. In the game, your card can be any of the four colours. You don't need to decide what it is until the moment you play it. This is the most unique premise of the game.
The basic trick-taking mechanisms are still there. The leading player of a trick decides the colour of the card he plays, and everyone else who "has" that colour must play it, and anyone who "does not have" the colour may play another colour. After everyone has played a card, compare the cards in the lead colour. Highest card wins the trick. If a red has been played (red is the trump colour), highest red wins instead. The concept of having or not having a colour is up to you to decide. Now this will be weird until you grasp the idea. It is as if you can freely decide the colour of your card. However that's not entirely true. As you play a round, you keep track of the cards you have played and announced, using a common board, as follows:
When you play a card, you declare its colour, and you mark the spot on the common board for that specific colour and number. From then on, no one can play that specific card anymore, because you have already played it. Using the photo above as an example, by now no one can play any yellow card because they have all been played before. So there are still some rules around how you announce the colour of your cards.
You have the option of declaring you no longer have a certain colour, so that you then may play any other colour if the lead player leads with this colour you do not have. In trick-taking games, ridding yourself of one colour is a basic tactic. In Cat in the Box, even though it's something you can do any time, there are risks associated with it. Every player has one small player board, shown above. When you play a card and announce the colour, you place in next to the edge with the declared colour. The player board has four spaces with X's, which are initially covered by your player tokens. The moment you declare that you do not have a specific colour, you remove that token (in the photo above, the example is green). From then on, you may no longer play a card of this colour, because you have claimed you no longer have this colour.
Why can this be risky? One of the ways a round in this game ends is when a player creates a paradox. The more conventional way a round ends is when everyone has played his second last card. You score points based on how many tricks you've taken. However if anyone is unable to play a card, the round ends prematurely, in a paradox. Let's look at this example:
I only have a 1 and a 4 in hand, but by now the 1's and 4's in all four colours have been played. I am supposed to play a card next, but I am unable to. Thus a paradox is created, and the round ends. Instead of gaining points, I lose points. Sometimes within the same trick two or more players may be out of cards they can play. In this case, the unlucky fellow is the one earlier in turn order.
Player tokens on the common board may score points for you. At the start of a round, after looking at your cards, you must make a prediction about how many tricks you will win. If your prediction comes true, you get to score a bonus. Look at your largest group of connected tokens on the common board, and score that many points. Using the photo above as an example, if the red player gets his prediction right, he scores a bonus of 5 points.
The number of rounds to play depends on the player count. The cards, common board and player boards to be used for different player counts vary too. The game comes with more advanced rules if you want more challenge.
The Play
This is an unconventional trick-taking game. You do generally want to win more tricks, but a big part of the game is managing your hand well so that you don't cause any paradox. Paradoxes are often disastrous. You will be thinking about how to make your prediction come true. You will be fighting for positions on the common board. In theory it may seem you have much freedom to declare your colours, but in practice there are many restrictions and tactics you have to consider. The advanced rules make paradoxes even more likely, so it becomes a game of outlasting your opponent.
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